Vampire Kisses
by YzakJouleX
Summary: AU Hilary,An outcast,who hopes to become a vampire some day,falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town,eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true.ReiHil.MaxMariamR
1. Little Monster

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!.

Chapter 1 (Little Monster)

It first happened when I was five.

I had just finished coloring_ My Kindergarten Book_. It was filled with Picasso-like drawings of my mom and dad, an Elmer's-glued, tissue-papered collage, and the answers to questions (favorite color, pets, best friend, etc.) written down by our hundred year old teacher, Mrs. Espinoza.

My classmates and I were sitting in a semicircle on the floor in a reading area. "Tyson, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Mrs. Espinoza asked after all the other questions had been answered.

"A police man"

"Emily?"

"Uh ... a computer programer" Emily whispered meekly.

Mrs. Espinoza went through the rest of the class. Fire men. Football players. Finally it was my turn.

"Hilary, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Mrs. Espinoza asked, her green eyes staring through me.

I said nothing.

"An actress?"

I shook my head.

"A doctor?"

"Nuh, uh" I said.

"A flight attendant?"

"Yuck!" I replied.

"Then what?" she asked, annoyed

I thought for a moment. "I want to be ..."

"Yes?"

"I want to be ... a vampire!" I shouted, to the shock and amazement of Mrs. Espinoza and my classmates. For a moment I thought she stared to laugh; maybe she really did. The children sitting next to me inched away.

I spent most of my childhood watching others inch away.

I was conceived on my dad's water bed-or on the rooftop of my mom's collage dorm under twinkling stars-depending on which one of my parents is telling the story. They were soul mates that couldn't part with the seventies: true love mixed with drugs, some raspberry incense, and the music of the grateful Dead. A beaded-jeweled, halter-topped, cutoff blue-jeaned, bare-footed girl, intertwined with a long-haired, unshaven, Elton John-spectacled, suntanned, leather-vested, bell-bottomed-and-sandaled guy. I think they're lucky I wasn't more eccentric. I could have wanted to be a beaded-haired hippie werewolf! But somehow I became obsessed with vampires.

Sara and Paul Tatibana became more responsible after my entrance into this world–or I'll rephrase it and say my parents were "less glassy eyed.". They sold the Volkswagen flower power van that they were living in and actually stared renting property. Our hippie apartment was decorated with 3-D glow-in-the-dark flower posters and orange tubes with a Play-Doh substance that moved on its own -lava lamps- that you could stare at forever. It was the best time ever. The three of us laughed and played Chutes and Ladders, and squeezed Twinkies between our teeth. We stayed up late, watching Dracula movies, _Dark Shadows_ with the infamous Barnabus Collins, and _Batman_ on a black-and-white TV we'd received when we opened a bank account. I felt secure under the blanket of midnight, rubbing Mom's growing belly, which made noises like the orange lava lamps. I figured she was going to give birth to more moving Play-Doh.

Everything changed when she gave birth to play-dough-only it wasn't Play-Doh. She gave birth to Nerd Boy! How could she? How could she destroy all the Twinkie nights? Now she went to bed early, and that creation that my parents called "Kenny" cried and fussed all night. I was suddenly alone. It was Dracula–the Dracula on TV- that kept me company while Mom slept, Nerd Boy wailed and Dad changed smelly diapers in the darkness.

And if that wasn't bad enough, suddenly they sent me to a place that wasn't my apartment, that didn't have wild 3-D flower posters on the walls, but boring collages of kids' hand prints. _Who Decorated around here? _I wondered. It was overcrowded with Sears catalog girls in frilly dresses and Sears catalog boys in tapered pants and perfectly combed hair. Mom and Dad called it _"Kindergarten"_.

"They'll be your friends," my mom reassured me, as I clung to her side for dear life. She waved good-bye and blew me a kiss as I stood alone beside the matronly Mrs. Espinoza, which was as alone as one could get. I watched my mom walk away with Nerd Boy on her hip as she took him back to the place filled with glow-in-the-dark posters, monster movies, and Twinkies.

Somehow I made it through the day. Cutting and gluing black paper on black paper, finger panting Barbie's lips black, and telling the assisant teacher ghost stories, while the Sears catalog kids ran around like they were all cousins at an all-American family picnic. I was even happy to see Nerd Boy when Mom finally came to pick me up.

That night she found me with my lips presses against the TV screen, trying to kiss Christopher Lee in _Horror Of Dracula_.

"Hilary! What are you doing up so late? You have to go to school tomorrow!"

"What?" I said. The Hostess cherry pie that I had been eating fell to the floor, and my heart fell with it.

"But I thought it was just the one time?" I said, panicked.

"Sweet Hilary. You have to go every day!"

_Every day?_ The words echoed inside my head. It was a life sentence!

That night Nerd Boy couldn't hope to compete with my dramatic wailing and crying. As I lay alone in my bed, I prayed for eternal darkness and a sun that never rose.

Unfortunately the next day I awoke to a blinding light, and a monster headache.

I longed to be around at least one person that I could connect with. But I couldn't find any, at home or school.

At home the lava lamps were replaced with Tiffany-style floor lamps, the glow-in-the-dark posters were covered with Laura Ashley wallpaper, and out grainy black-and-white TV was upgraded to a twenty-five-inch color model.

At school instead of singing the songs of _Mary Poppins_, I whistled the theme to _The Exorcist_.

Halfway through kindergarten I tried to become a vampire. Kai Hiwatari, an exotically hair styled bluegray-darkblue haired boy with auburn eyes, was my nemesis from the moment I stared him down when he tried to cut in front of me on the slide. He hated me, because I was the only kid who wasn't afraid of him. The kids and teachers kissed up to him, because his father owned most of the land their houses sat on. Kai was in a biting phase, not because he wanted to be a vampire like me, but just because he was mean. He had taken pieces of flesh out of everyone but me and I was starting to get ticked off!

We were on the playground, standing by the basketball hoop, when I pinched the skin of his little arm so hard I though blood would squirt out. His face turned beet red. I stood motionless and waited, Kai's body trembled with anger, and his eyes swelled with vengeance as I mischievously smiled back. Then he left his dental impressions in my expectant hand. Mrs.Espinoza was forced to sit him against the school wall, and I happily danced around the playground, waiting to transform into a vampire bat.

"That Hilary is an odd one," I overheard Mrs. Espinoza saying to another teacher as I skipped past haloring Kai, who was now throwing a fit against the hard blacktop. I blew him a grateful kiss with my bitten hand.

I wore my wound proudly as I got on the school swing. I could fly now right? But I'd need something to take me into warp speed. The seat went as high as the top of the fence, but I was aiming for the puffy clouds. The rusty swing started to buckle when I jumped off. I planned to fly across the playground-all the way to a startled Kai. Instead I plummeted to a muddy earth, doing further damage to my tooth-marked hand. I cried more from the fact that I didn't possess supernatural powers like my heroes on TV than because of my throbbing flesh.

With my bite trapped under ice, Mrs. Espinoza sat me against the wall to rest while the spoiled snot-nosed Kai was now free to play. He blew me a teasing kiss and said, "Thank You.". I stuck out my tongue and called him a name I had heard a mobster say in the _The Godfather_. Mrs. Espinoza immediately sent me inside. I was sent inside a lot during my childhood recesses. I was destined to take a recess from recess.


	2. Dullsville

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!.

Chapter 2 (Dullsville)

The official welcome sign to my town should read, "Welcome to Dullsville –Bigger than a cave, but small enough to feel claustrophobic!"

A population of 8,000 look-alikes, a weather forecast that's perfectly miserable all year round–sunny–fenced in cookie-cutter houses, and sprawling farmland–that's Dullsville.

The 8:10 freight train that runs through town separates the wrong side of the tracks from the right ride, the cornfields from the golf course, the tractors from the golf carts. I think this town has it backwards. How can land that grows corn and wheat be worth less than land filled with sand traps?

The hundred-year-old courthouse sits on the town square. I haven't gotten into enough trouble to be dragged there–yet. Boutiques, a travel agent, a computer store, a florist, and a second-run movie theater all sit happily around the square.

I wish our house could lie on the railroad tracks, on wheels, and carry us out of town, but we're on the right side near the country club. Dullsville. The only exciting place is an abandoned mansion an exiled baroness built on top of Benson hill, where she died in isolation.

I have only one friend in Dullsville–a farm girl, Mariam Shields, who is more unpopular than I am. I was in third grade when I officially met her. Sitting on the school steps waiting for my mom to pick me up (Late as Usual) now that she was trying to be Corporate Cathy, I noticed an impish girl cowering at the bottom of the steps, crying like a baby. She didn't have and friends, since she was shy and lived on the east side of the tracks. She was one of the few farm girls in our school and sat two rows behind me in class.

"What's wrong?" I asked, feeling sorry for her.

"My mom forgot me!" she hollered, her hands covering her pathetic wet face.

"No she didn't," I consoled.

"She's never this late!" she cried.

"Maybe she's stuck in traffic."

"You thing so?"

Sure! Or maybe she got a call from one of those nosey sales people that always asks, 'Is your mother home?'"

"Really?"

"Happens all the time. Or maybe she had to stop for snacks, and there was a long line at 7-Eleven."

"Would she do that?"

"Why not, you have to eat, don't you? So never fear, She'll be here."

And sure enough, a blue pickup drove up with one apologetic mother and friendly, fluffy sheepdog.

"My mom says you can come over Saturday if it's okay with your parents," Mariam said, running back to me.

No one had ever invited me to their house before. I wasn't shy like Mariam but I was just unpopular. I was always late for school because I overslept; I wore sunglasses in class and I had opinions, atypical in Dullsville.

Mariam had a backyard as big as Transylvania– a grate place to hide and play monsters and eat all the fresh apples a growing third-grader stomach could hold. I was the only kid in our class who didn't beat her up, excluding herself, or call her names, and I even kicked anyone who tried. She was my three-dimensional shadow. I was her best friend and her bodyguard. And still am.

When I wasn't playing with Mariam, I spent my time applying black lipstick and nail polish, scuffing my already—worn combat boots, and burying my head behind Anne Rice Novels. I was eleven when our family went to New Orleans for vacation. Mom and Dad went to play blackjack on the Flamingo river boat casino. Nerd Boy wanted to go to the aquarium. But I knew where I was going: I wanted to visit the house of Anne Rice's birth, the historical homes she had restored, and the mansion she now called home.

I stood mesmerize outside its iron gate, a Gothic mega-mansion, my mom (my uninvited Chaperone) by my side. I could sense ravens flying over head, even though there probably weren't any. It was a shame I hadn't come at night–it would have been that much more beautiful. Several girls who looked just like me stood across the street, taking pictures. I wanted to rush over and say "Be my friends. We can tour the cemeteries together!" it was the first time in my life I felt like I belonged.

I was in the city where they stacked coffins on top of one another so you could see them, instead of burying them deep within the earth. There were collage guys with three-toned spiky hair. Funky people were everywhere, except on Bourbon Street, where the tourist looked like they'd just flown in from Dullsville. Suddenly a limousine pulled around the corner. The blackest limo I had ever seen. The driver, complete with black chauffeur's hat, opened the door, and she stepped out!

I freaked and watched motionless, like time was standing still. Right before my eyes was my idol of all living idols, Anne Rice!

She glowed like a movie star, a Gothic angel, a heavenly creature. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders and glistened; she wore a golden headband, a long, flowing skirt, and a fabulous vampirish, dark cloak. I was speechless. I thought I might go into shock.

Fortunately my mom's never speechless.

"Could my daughter please have your autograph?"

"Sure." the queen of nocturnal adventures sweetly replied.

I walked toward her, as if my marshmallow legs would melt under the sun at my moment.

After she signed a yellow post-it note my mom found in her purse, the Gothic starlet and I were standing beside each other, smiling, her arm around my waist.

Anne Rice had agreed to take a picture with me!

I had never smiled like that in my life. She probably smiled like that a million times before. A moment she'll never remember, and I'll never forget.

Why didn't I tell her I loved her books? Why didn't I tell her how much she meant to me? That I thought she had a handle on things like no one else did?

I screamed with excitement for the rest of the day, reenacting the scene over and over for my dad and Nerd Boy at our antique-filled, pastel pink bed-and-breakfast. It was our first day in New Orleans, and I was ready to go home. Who cared about the stupid aquarium, the French Quarter, blues bands and Mardi Gras Beads when I'd just seen a vampire angel?

I waited all day to get the film developed, only to find that the picture of me and Anne Rice didn't come out. Sullen, I retreated back to the hotel with my mother. Despite the fact she and I had appeared in photographs separately, could it be possible that the combination of two vampire-lovers couldn't be captured on film? Or rather it was just a reminder that she was a brilliant best-selling writer, and I was a screamy, dreamy child going through a dark phase. Or maybe it was that my mom was a lousy photographer.


	3. Monster Mash

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!.

Chapter 3 (Monster Mash)

My sweet sixteenth birthday. Shouldn't all birthdays be sweet? Why should sixteen be any sweeter? It seemed like a lot of hype to me!

In Dullsville, they celebrate today, my sixteenth birthday, as any other day.

It all started with Nerd Boy's shouting at me. "Get up Hilary. You don't want to be late. It's time for school!"

How could two kids come from the same parents and be so different? Maybe there is something to that theory about the milk man. But in Nerd Boys case my mother must have had an affair with the librarian.

I dragged myself out of bed and put on a black, cotton sleeveless dress and black hiking boots, and out lined my full lips with black lipstick.

Two white-flowered cakes, one in the shape of a 1 and the other in the shape of a 6, awaited me on the kitchen table.

I grazed the 6 cake with my index finger and licked the icing off.

"Happy Birthday!" my mom said, kissing me. "That's for tonight, but you can have this now." she said handing me a package.

"Happy Birthday, Hilary," my dad said, also giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"I bet you have no idea what you're giving me," I teased my dad as I held the package.

"No. But I'm sure it cost a lot."

I shook the light package in my hand and heard a rattle. I stared at the Happy Birthday wrapping paper. It could be keys to a car—my very own Batmobile! After all, it was my sixteenth birthday.

"I wanted to buy you something special," my mom said, smiling

I ripped the package open excitedly and lifted the jewelry box lid. A string of shiny white pearls stared back at me.

"Every girl should have a pearl necklace for special occasions" My mom gleamed.

This was my mom's corporate version of hippie love beads. I forced a crooked smile as I tried to hide my disappointment. "Thanks," I said, hugging them both. I began to put the necklace back in the box, but my parents glared at me, so I reluctantly modeled it for them.

"It looks gorgeous on you." My mom glowed.

"I'll save them for something really special," I replied putting them back in the box.

The doorbell rang and Mariam came in with a small gift bag.

"Happy Birthday!" she shouted as we went into the living room.

"Thanks. You didn't have to get me anything."

"You say that every year," she teased and handed me the bag. "By the way, I saw a moving van last night outside the Mansion!" she whispered.

"No way! Someone finally moved in?"

"Guess so. But all I saw were the movers carrying in oak desks, grandfather clocks, and huge crates marked 'Soil' And they have a teenage son."

"He was probably born wearing khaki pants. And I'm sure his parents are some boring Ivy Leaguers," I replied. "I hope they don't remodel it and chase out all the spiders."

"Yeah. And tear down the gate and put up a white picket fence."

"And a plastic goose on the front lawn."

We both giggled like mad as I stuck my hand into the bag.

"I wanted to buy you something special, since you're sixteen."

I pulled out a black leather necklace with a pewter charm. The charm was a bat!

"I love it !" I screamed, putting it on.

My mom leered at me from the kitchen.

"Next time we'll give her money," I heard her tell my father.

"Pearls!" I whispered to Mariam as we left the house.

I was in gym class wearing a black shirt, shorts and combat boots instead of the required white-on-white and gym shoes. _Really, what's the point? _I thought. Does a white ensemble make a student a better athlete?

"Hilary, I don't feel like sending you to the office today. Why don't you just give me a break for once and wear what you're supposed to wear?" Mr. Lopez, the gym teacher, whined.

"It's my birthday. Maybe you could _me_ a break this once!"

He stared at me, not knowing what to say. "Just today," he finally agreed. "And not because it's your birthday, but because I'm not in the mood to send you to the office."

Mariam and I giggled as we went off toward the bleachers where the class was waiting.

Kai Hiwatari, my kindergarten nemesis, and his shuffling sidekick, Max Tate, followed us. They were perfectly dresses, conservative, rich, soccer snobs. They knew they were grate looking, and it made me sick that they were so cocky.

"Sweet sixteen!" Kai said obviously having overheard my chat with Mr. Lopez. "How lovely! Just ripe for love, don't you think, Max?" they were close on our heels.

"Yeah, dude," Max agreed.

"But maybe there's a reason she doesn't wear white–white is for virgins, right Hilary?"

He was gorgeous, no doubt about it. His auburn eyes were beautiful, and his body looked as perfects as a model's. He had a girlfriend for every day of the week. He was a bad boy, but he was a rich bad boy, which made him very boring.

"Hey, I'm not the one wearing white underwear, am I?" I asked. "You're right–there's a reason I wear black. Maybe you're the one who oughta get out more"

Mariam and I sat on the far end of the bleachers, leaving Kai and Matt standing on the track.

"So how are you spending your birthday?" Kai shouted, sitting with the rest of the class, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You and farmer Mariam sitting home on a Friday night, watching Friday the Thirteenth? Maybe placing some personal ads? 'Sixteen-year-old single white monster girl seeks mate to bond with for eternity."

The whole classed laughed.

I didn't like it when Kai teased me, but I liked it even less when he teased Mariam.

"No, we were thinking of crashing Max's party tonight. Otherwise there won't be anyone interesting there."

Everyone was shocked, and Mariam rolled her eyes, as if saying, _What are you dragging me into now? _We had never been to one of Max's highly publicized parties. We were never invited, and we wouldn't have gone if we were. At least I wouldn't.

The whole class waited for Kai's reaction.

"Sure, you and Igor can come ... but remember, we drink beer, not blood!" The whole class laughed again, and Kai high-fived Max.

Just then Mr. Lopez blew his whistle, signaling us to hightail it off the bleachers and run like greyhounds around the track.

But Mariam and I walked, indifferent to our sweating classmates.

"We can't go to Max's party," Mariam said. "Who knows what they'll do to us?"

"We'll see what they do. Or what we'll do. It's my Sweet Sixteenth, remember? A birthday to never forget!"


	4. Truth Or Scare

Vampire Kisses

AN: Thank you for the reviews and being patient .. Been having some problems with my computer hopefully its fixed now ... well anyway thank you! Enjoy!

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the Beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!.

Chapter 4 (Truth Or Scare)

The most exciting things to happen in Dullsville in my life time in chronological order:

1. The 3:10 train jumped its tracks, spilling boxes of Tootsie Rolls, which were devoured.

2. A senior flushed a cherry bomb down the toilet exploding the sewage line, closing school for a week.

3. On my sixteenth birth day a family rumored to be vampires moved into the haunted mansion on top pf Benson Hill!

The legend of the mansion went like this: it was built by a Romanian baroness who fled her country after a peasant revolt in which her husband and most of his family were killed. The baroness built her new home on Benson Hill to resemble her European estate in every detail, except for the corpses.

She lived with her servants in complete isolation, terrified of strangers and crowds. I was a small child at the time of her death and never meet her. Although I used to play by her solitary monument in the cemetery. Folks said she would sit by the up stairs window in the evenings staring at the moon, and that even now, when the moon is full, if you look from just the right angle, you can see her ghost sitting in that same window gazing at the sky.

But I never saw her.

The Mansion has been boarded up ever since. Rumor had it there was a witchlike Romanian daughter interested in black magic. In any case, she wasn't interested in Dullsville (Smart lady!) And never claimed the place.

The Mansion on Benson Hill was quite gorgeous to me in its Gothic way, but an eyesore to everyone else. It was the biggest house in town–and the emptiest. My dad says that's because it's probate. Mariam says it's because it's haunted. I think it's because woman in this town are afraid of dust.

The Mansion, Of course, had always fascinated me. It was my Barbie Dream House, and I climbed the hill many nights hoping to spot a ghost. But I actually went inside only once, when I was twelve. I was hoping I could fix it up and make it my playhouse. I was going to put up a sign that said, NO NERD BOYS ALLOWED. One night I climbed the wrought iron gate and scurried up the winding driveway.

The Mansion was truly magnificent, with vines dripping down its sides like falling tears, chipped paint, shattered roof tiles, and a spooky attic window. The wooden door stood like Godzilla, tall and powerful----and locked. I snuck around the back. All the windows were boarded up with long nails, but I noticed some loose boards hanging over the basement window. I was trying to pull them loose when I heard voices.

I crouched behind some bushes as a gang of high-school seniors stumbled near. More were drunk and one was scared.

"C'mon Michael, we've all done it," they lied, pushing a guy with a baseball cap toward the mansion. "Go in and get us a shrunken head!"

I could see Michael Parker was nervous. He was a handsome crush-worthy guy, the kind who should be spending his time shooting hoops or making girls swoon, not sneaking into haunted houses to win friends.

It was like Michael had already seen a ghost as he approached the Mansion. Suddenly he looked behind the bushes where I was hiding. I gasped and he screamed. I thought we were both going to have a heart attack. I crouched back down, because I heard the gang approaching.

"He's screaming like a little girl and he's not even in yet!" one of them teased.

"Get out of here!" Michael said to the guys. "I'm supposed to do this alone, right?"

He waited for the others to retreat and then nodded to me that it was clear.

"Damn, girl, you scared me! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here and lost my keys. I'm just trying to get back in," I joked.

He caught his breath and smiled. "Who are you?"

"Hilary, I already know who you are. You're Michael Parker. Your father owns the department store where my mom buys her swank purses. I've seen you working the cash register."

"Yeah, I thought you looked familiar."

"So why are you here?"

"It's a dare. My friends think the place is haunted, and I'm supposed to sneak inside and get a souvenir."

"Like an old couch?"

He smiled that same smile. "Yeah, goofball. But it doesn't matter. There's no way----"

"Yes, There is!" and I showed him the loose boards at the basement window.

"You go in first," he said podding me forward with trembling hands. "Your smaller"

I slithered easily through the window.

Inside, it was really dark, even for me. I could barely make out the cobwebs. I loved it! There were stacks of cardboard boxes everywhere, and it smelled like a basement that had been there since the beginning of time.

"C'mon already!" I said.

"I can't move! I'm stuck."

"You have to move. Do you want them to find you with your backside hanging out?"

I yanked and pushed and pulled. Finally Michael came through, to my relief, but not his.

I led the terrified senior through the moldy basement.

He held my hand so tight I though he would break my fingers.

But it was nice to hold his hand. It was big and strong and masculine. Not like Nerd Boy's, whose tiny hand always felt swishy and smarmy.

"Where are we going?" he whispered in a terrified voice. "I cant see a thing!"

I could make out shapes of massive chairs and sofas, covered with dusty white cloth, probably once belonged to the old woman who stared at the moon.

"I see some stairs" I said "Just follow me."

"I'm not going any further! Are you crazy?"

"How about a full-length mirror?" I teased, peeking behind the cloth.

"I'll take one of these empty boxes!"

"That's no good. Your friends will kill you. You'll be a laughing stock for the rest of your life. Believe me, I know how it is."

I looked back at him and saw the terror on his face. I wasn't sure if he was scared of his friends outside or of the basement steps that might cave in at the slightest pressure. Or maybe he was afraid of ghosts.

"Okay." I said "You wait here"

"Like I could go anywhere? I have no idea how to get back!"

"But first.."

"What?"

"Let go of my hand!"

"Oh, yeah."

He let me go. "Hilary--"

"What?"

"Be careful!"

"I paused. "Michael, do you believe in ghosts?"

"No, of course not!"

"So you don't think there is a ghost here? Of that old woman?"

"Shhh! Don't talk so loud!"

I smiled with expectation. But then I remembered his gang's dare and grabbed his baseball cap. He screamed again.

"Relax, it's only me, not one of those spooky ghosts you don't believe in."

I carefully ascended the creaky steps and bumped into aclosed door at the top. But it opened when I turned the knob. I was in a wide hallway. Moonlight was shining through cracks in the boarded windows. The Mansion seemed even bigger on the inside. I caressed the walls as I walked, the dust softly caking my hands. I turned a corner and stumbled upon a grand staircase. What treasures lay at the top of it? Is that where the ghosts of the baroness appeared?

I tiptoed up the stairs, as mouselike as I could in my heavy combat boots.

The first door was locked, as was the second and third. I leaned my ear to the fourth door, and I heard the sound of faint crying from the other side. A cold chill ran through me. I was in heaven. As I listened closer, I realized it was only the wind whistling through the boarded windows.

I opened a closet, which creaked like an old coffin. Maybe I'd find a skeleton! The only thing I discovered, however, were several old hangers sporting cobwebs instead of clothes. I wondered where the ghosts were. I peered into the library. An open book lay on a small table, as if the woman who stared at the moon had been reading it when she died.

I grabbed _Romanian Castles _off the shelf, hoping it would open a secret passageway into a spook-filled dungeon. Nothing moved except a hairy brown spider that scooted across the dusty shelf.

But the next moment, I heard a loud sound and nearly jumped through the roof—it was the honking of a horn! Startled, I dropped the book. I had totally forgotten about Michael's gang and my new mission.

I ran back down the grand staircase, leaping over the last steps. A bright light was beaming through the boarded-up windows in the living room. I climbed onto the bay window and peered out, safely hidden behind the boards. I could see the seniors sitting on the hood of their car, the headlights shining up through the gate of the Mansion.

One of them was looking in my direction, so I pushed Michael's cap out through an opening between the boards and waved it like I had just landed on the moon. I felt triumphant. The seniors gave the thumbs up in reply.

I found Michael in a sweat, sitting in a corner of the basement on top of some wooden crates. He must have been thinking about rats as well as ghosts.

He grabbed me like a child grabs his mother. "What took you so long?"

I replaced the cap on his head. "You'll need this."

"What did you do with it?"

"I let them know you made it in okay. Ready?"

"Ready!" And he pulled me back through the window like the place was on fire. I noticed he didn't get stuck this time.

We shoved the board back in place. It looked as if we had never been there. "We don't want this to be easy for anyone else," I said.

He stared back like he didn't know what to make of me, or how to thank me.

"Wait! I didn't get a souvenir!" he realized.

"I'll go back in."

"No way!" he said, grabbing my arm.

I thought for a moment.

"Here, take this." I gave him my necklace. A black leather band with an onyx medallion. "It only cost three dollars, but it looks like it was owned by a baroness. Just don't let anyone appraise it."

"But you did all the work, and I'll get all the credit."

"Take it before I change my mind."

"Thanks!"

He weighed the necklace in his hand and gave me a warm kiss on my cheek. I hid behind the crumbling gazebo as he ran back down to his buddies, dangling the necklace in front of their faces, getting high fives.

They adored him now and so did I. I held my filthy hand against my freshly kissed cheek.

After that day Michael hung out with the cool club and even became class president. From time to time, I'd see him around the town square, and he'd always have a huge smile for me.

I didn't have a chance to return to my Barbie Dream House. Word spread that Michael had snuck into the Mansion. Fearful that more kids might break in, police patrolled the area at night. It would be years till I visited the Mansion again.


	5. A Light in the Window

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!

Chapter 5 (A Light in the Window)

Still sweaty from gym class, Mariam and I passed the Mansion on our way home. I noticed something I had never seen before, a light in the window. Windows—they weren't boarded up anymore!

"Mariam, look!" I screamed with excitement. This was the best birthday present of all! There was a figure standing in the attic window, staring up at the stars.

"Oh, no! It's true, Hilary. There are ghosts!" she screamed, clutching onto my arm.

"Well, this ghost drives a black Mercedes!" I said, pointing to the snazzy car parked in the driveway.

"Let's go," she pleaded.

Suddenly the attic light went out.

We both gasped at the same time. Mariam's nails dug into my thrift-store sweater. We waited, wide-eyed and speechless.

"C'mon, let's go!" Mariam said.

I didn't move.

"Hilary, I'm already late for dinner! We'll be doubly late for Max's party."

"You've got the hots for ol' Max?" I teased, my eyes glued to the Mansion.

But when she didn't reply, I turned to face her. Mariam's cheeks were flushed

"You do!" I said with a gasp. "And you think i'm weird!" I delared, shaking my head.

"Hilary, I've got to go!"

I would have waited till morning, but whoever was inside wasn't coming out.

The light in the attic window had lit a fire in my soul.

"I saw a Mercedes parked at the Mansion!" I informed my family at dinner. I was late as usual, this time for my own birthday dinner.

"I heard they looked like the Addams Family," Nerd Boy said.

"Maybe they have a daughter your age. Someone who doesn't like to get into trouble," my mother added

"Then I'd have no use for her."

"Maybe she has a father I can play tennis with," my father said hopefully.

"Whoever it is will need to get rid of all those old mirrors and crates," I added, not realizing what I had said.

They all looked at me. "What crates?" my mom asked. "Don't tell me you've snuck into that house!"

"It's just something I heard."

"Hilary!" my mother said in that disapproving mother tone.

It seemed no one in Dullsville had seen the new owners. It was wonderful to have a mystery in this town for a change. Everyone already knew most everything that happened in Dullsville, and most of it wasn't worth knowing.

Max Tate lived on the good side of town, at the edge of Oakley Woods. Mariam and I arrived late and entered the party like we were movie stars entering a premiere. Or rather I did. Poor Mariam hung tightly to my side like she was visiting the dentist.

"It'll be okay," I reassured her. "It's a party!"

But I knew why she was nervous. We were subjecting ourselves to ridicule when we could have been safely at home watching TV like Kai said. But why should the snobs have all the fun? Just because Max's bedroom was the size of my living room? Just because we didn't wear clothes that were "in"? So that meant I should sit home on my sixteenth birthday?

I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea, as a crowd of snobs dispersed from the hallway upon our entry. Our classmates eyeballed me, decked out in my usual Gothic garb. Too bad Tommy Hilfiger wasn't there. He'd have been flattered. Everyone was wearing his clothes like school uniform. The sound of Aerosmith rocked throughout Max's living room.

A thick layer of smoke hung above the couches, and the smell of beer permeated the air like cheap incense. Couples who weren't staring disapprovingly at us were staring adoringly at each other. It was going to be useless to try to talk to anyone.

"I can't believe you showed up," Max said, spotting us in the hallway. "I'd take a picture, but I don't know if you'd be visible!" Yet despite his bark, Max wasn't as cruel as Kai. "Beers are out back," he then said. "Want me to show you the way?"

Mariam was in awe of Max. She shook her head and locked herself in the hallway bathroom. Max laughed and headed for the kitchen. I waited in the living room by a concert-sized speaker, perusing the CDs. Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, and a bunch of show tunes. I wasn't surprised. I went back to check on Mariam and found the bathroom door open. She wasn't in the hallway, so I walked through the crowd of hammered classmates to the kitchen. A group of hundred-dollar-hairstyle girls glared at me and left, leaving me alone. Or so I thought.

"Hey, sexy Monster Chick," a voice said behind me. It was Kai.

He was leaning against the wall next to me, a can of Budweiser dangling from his hand

"Does that line work for you at every party?"

He smiled a seductive smile. "I've never kissed a girl with black lips before."

"You've never kissed a girl before," I said and walked past him.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. He looked at me with his auburn eyes and kissed me on the mouth! I have to admit, he was a great kisser, and it didn't hurt that he was gorgeous.

Kai Hiwatari had never even touched me, much less kissed me, except when he bit me in kindergarten. The most I ever got was a thump on the head when I walked too close to him. He had to be drunk. Maybe it was a joke—maybe he was just trying to mess me up. But the way his lips felt against mine, it seemed like we were both enjoying it. I didn't know what to think as he pulled me out the back door, past an inebriated couple mashing on the steps, past garbage cans and the fountain, under tall trees and darkness.

"Are you scared of the dark, Monster Girl?" The woods let so little light in, it was hard to make out the red stripes on his sweater.

"No, I quite like it."

He pushed me up against a tree and started kissing me for real. His hands were everywhere—on me, on the tree.

"I've always wanted to kiss a vampire!" he said, coming up for air.

"I've always wanted to kiss a Neanderthal."

He laughed and went on kissing me.

"So does this mean we're going together?" I asked. Now I was the one coming up for air.

"What?"

"Like when we go to school? We'll hold hands in the halls and hang out together at lunch? See movies on the weekends?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Then we're going together?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "You can watch me play soccer and I can watch you turn into a bat." He began softly biting me on the neck. "I bet you like it like this, don't you, Monster Girl?"

My heart sank. Of course, I didn't really want to be Kai's girlfriend. It's not like he was Mars and I was Venus—we weren't even from the same universe! And I didn't even like him, really. I knew why he'd brought me out here, I knew what he wanted to do, and I knew who he was going to tell. And at the end of it all, he might win ten dollars from all his betting buddies for "getting the Goth Chick." I had hoped he was going to prove me wrong. Instead, he was proving me right.

It was time to get down to business. "Wanna see why I don't wear white? Wanna fly with me?"

"Yeah." He smiled, sort of startled, but very eager. "I bet you fly like Supergirl!"

I urged him over the picket fence into the woods. I could obviously see better than he. My nocturnal habits had always made me a great observer in the dark. Not as good as a cat, but close. I felt safe and secure, with the beautiful moon now guiding me. I looked up and saw several bats fluttering over the trees. I'd never seen bats in Dullsville. But I didn't go to that many parties, either.

"I can't see," Trevor said, removing a branch from his hair.

As we walked on, he flailed his arms like he was going to hit something. Some people are violent drunks; some are slobbering drunks. But Kai was a terrified drunk. He was really becoming quite unattractive.

"Let's stop here," he said.

"No, just a little bit further," I said, following the bats as they flew into the woods. "It's my sixteenth birthday. I want this to be a night I'll never forget! We need total privacy."

"This is plenty private," he said, groping around and trying to kiss me.

"We're almost there," I said, tugging him on. The lights from the house could no longer be seen, and we couldn't walk five steps without hitting a tree.

"This is perfect!" I finally said.

He squeezed me hard, not because he loved me, but because he was afraid. It was pathetic. There was a gentle wind blowing through the trees, and the smell of autumn leaves. I heard bats chirping high overhead. The full moon illuminated their wings. It would have been romantic, if only I had had a real boyfriend with me.

Kai was completely blind in the darkness, feeling everything with his hands and lips. He kissed me all over my face and touched the small of my back. Even blind, it didn't take him long to find the buttons on my shirt.

"No, you first," I told him.

I lifted off his sweater, as unclumsily as I could. I had never done this before. He was wearing a V-neck T-shirt underneath and an undershirt underneath that. _This is going to take forever, _I thought.

I felt his naked chest. Why not? It was right in front of me. It was soft and smooth and muscular. He pulled me closer, my lacy, black rayon shirt touching his naked torso.

"Now you, baby. I want you so bad," he said, straight out of some skin flick on cable.

"Me too, baby." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

I leaned him down slowly on the damp earth. I slid off his loafers and socks. He eagerly took off the rest. He lay propped up on his arms, completely naked. I stared down at him in the faint moonlight, savoring the moment. How many girls had Mr. Gorgeous laid out by a tree, only to cast them aside the next day? I wasn't the first and I wasn't going to be the last. I was just going to be different.

"Hurry up—come over here," he said. "I'm cold!"

"I'll just be a minute. I don't want you to see me undress."

"I can't see you! I can't even see my own hands!"

"Well, just hang on."

I had Kai Hiwatari's clothes in my arms. His sweater, V-neck, undershirt, khakis, socks, loafers, and underwear. I had his power. His mask. I had his whole life. What was a girl to do?

This girl ran. I ran so hard, like I had never run before. Like I had been training every day in phys ed class. If Mr. Harris could have seen me then, he surely would have put me on the track team.

The bats flew off, too, as if they were in sync with my movements. I quickly reached the house, Kai's ensemble wadded in my arms. The snobs drinking on the back porch were too busy talking about their shallow lives to notice me emptying a trash bag half filled with beer cans and stuffing in Trevor's clothes.

I carried the bag into the house and grabbed a startled Mariam by the arm. She was delivering beer to a table of poker players.

"Where were you?" she screamed. "I couldn't find you anywhere! I was forced to wait on these creeps! Back and forth—beer, chips, beer, chips. And now cigars! Hilary, where am I supposed to get cigars?"

"Forget about cigars! We've gotta run!"

"Hey, toots, where are those pretzels?" a drunken jock demanded.

"The bar is closed!" I said in his face. "Great service demands a great tip!" I grabbed his poker earnings and stuffed them into Mariam's purse. "Time to go!" I said, pulling her away.

"What's in the bag?" she asked.

"Trash, what else?"

I pushed her out the front door. The nice thing about not having friends was there was no one to say good-bye to. "What happened?" she kept asking as I pulled her across the front yard. Her ten-year-old pickup truck sat at the end of the street, waiting for us like home base. "Where were you, Hilary? You have leaves in your hair."

I waited until we were halfway home before I turned to her with a huge grin and shouted, "I screwed Kai Hiwatari!"

"You did what?" she shouted back, almost swerving off the road. "With who?"

"I screwed Kai Hiwatari."

"You didn't! You couldn't! You wouldn't!"

"No, I mean figuratively. I screwed him so bad, Mariam, and I have the clothes to prove it!" And I pulled them out of the trash bag one by one.

We laughed and shrieked as Mariam turned a corner near Benson Hill.

Somehow Kai would find his way out of the darkness. But he wouldn't have his rich threads to mask himself. He'd be naked, cold, alone. Exposed for who he really was.

I would remember my Sweet Sixteenth birthday for the rest of my life, and now Kai Hiwatari would, too.

As we drove along the desolate country road that twisted around Benson Hill, the headlights shone against the creepy trees. Moths attacked the windshield as if warning us to choose another way.

"The Mansion's totally dark," I said as we approached it. "Wanna stop for a look-see?"

"Your birthday's over," Mariam said in an exhausted voice, keeping her foot on the gas pedal. "We'll go next year."

Suddenly the headlights illuminated a figure standing in the middle of the road.

"Watch out!" I yelled.

A guy with moonlight-white skin and black hair, clothed in a black coat, black jeans, and black Doc Martens, quickly raised his arm to shield his eyes—seemingly from the glare of the headlights rather than the imminent impact of Mariam's pickup.

Mariam slammed her brakes. We heard a _thud_

"Are you okay?" she cried.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Did I hit him?" she yelled, panicking.

"I don't know."

"I can't look," she said, hiding her head on the steering wheel. "I can't!" She started to cry.

I jumped out of the truck and anxiously peered around the front, afraid of what I might find lying in the road.

But I saw nothing.

I checked underneath the truck and looked for dents. On closer inspection, I noticed blood splattered on the fender.

"Are you okay?" I called out.

But there was no response.

I grabbed a flashlight from Mariam's glove compartment.

"What are you doing?" she asked, worried.

"Searching."

"For what?"

"There was some blood—"

"Blood?" Mariam cried. "I've killed someone!"

"Calm down. It could have been a deer."

"A deer doesn't wear black jeans! I'm calling nine-one-one."

"Go ahead—but where's the body?" I reasoned. "You weren't going fast enough to catapult him into the woods."

"Maybe he's under the truck!"

"I already looked. You probably just bumped him and he took off. But I want to make sure."Mariam grabbed my arm, digging her nails into my flesh. "Hilary, don't go! Let's get out of here! I'm calling nine-one-one!"

"Lock the door if you have to," I said, tearing myself free. "But keep the engine and the lights on."

"Hilary, tell me this ..." Mariam exclaimed breathlessly, gazing at me with terrified eyes. "What normal guy would be walking in the middle of a pitch-black road? Do you think he might be a—?"

I felt the pleasant tingle of goosebumps on my arms.

"Mariam, don't get my hopes up!"

I combed the bushes that went down to the creek. Then I headed for the hillside leading up toward the Mansion.

I let out a shriek.

"What is it?" Mariam cried, rolling down the window.

Blood! Thick puddles in the grass! But there was no body! I followed the bloodstains, afraid bits of his corpse were strewn everywhere. And then I tripped over something hard. I looked down, anticipating a severed head. I apprehensively shone my flashlight on it. It was a dented paint bucket.

"Is he dead?" Mariam gasped as I returned to the truck.

"No, but I think you may have killed his can," I said, dangling the bucket in front of her. "What was he doing painting in the middle of the night? And where was he going?"

"It was just paint!" Mariam said with a gasp of relief, hanging up her cell phone and revving the engine. "Let's get out of here!"

"What was that jerk doing walking in the middle of the road at night?" I wondered out loud. "Maybe he was going to paint some graffiti or something."

"Where did he come from? Where could he have gone so fast?" she mumbled back at me.

In the rearview mirror I caught the reflection of the darkened Mansion just in time to see a light go on in the attic window.


	6. Exposed

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!

Chapter 6 (Exposed)

The story of Naked Kai spread immediately through Dullsville High. Some students said he stumbled into Max's house in a trash-bag diaper; others said he was found passed out naked on the back lawn. No one had a clue I was involved. Only Kai knew the real story. Apparently he tried to pass it off to his buddies as an encounter with a cheerleader. Either way, everyone got a laugh.

Kai left me alone. He wouldn't even make eye contact with me. Gothic Girl had finally gotten the goods on the popular Soccer Snob. But I didn't want him to accuse me of theft. I had to give his clothes back, right?

First there was the shoe. I think it was the left. I strung it on the outside of my locker. At first no one seemed to notice the hanging loafer. Those who finally did looked at it and walked on. But the next morning it was gone. One person had noticed it. Now it was time for others to take notice besides good ol' Kai.

The right brown loafer was strung up in the same fashion. But next to it was a sign: missing SOMETHING, KAI?

This time I heard giggles as students passed. They didn't realize whose locker it was. But they'd soon be catching on.

Each day a sock would hang out, or a T-shirt. I started noticing Snob Girls who would never talk to me suddenly looking over in algebra with smiling approval. They had been Kai Tree Girls, promised everything, with nothing to show for it. Well, I had plenty to show.

By the time his khaki pants were hung out, complete with grass stains and dirt, everyone knew whose locker it was. Now kids in the hall were grinning at me. Guys weren't exactly asking me out, but I was suddenly popular—in a quiet kind of way.

Except, of course, with Kai. But I felt safe. Now that everyone knew whose locker it was, he would be the prime suspect if anything happened to me.

But he did make the odd threat.

"You'll pay for this, Monster," he said one day. He grabbed my jaw in his hands when Mariam and I were starting to walk home.

"Combat boots hurt more than loafers, Neanderthal," I shot back.. My face was pressed between his hands.

"Let her go," Max said, pulling him away. I could see even Max had enjoyed my prank. I'm sure he got tired of THE KAI attitude sometimes. After all, he was stuck being Kai's best friend.

"You'll never be anything more than a freak!" Kai shouted. Fortunately Max pulled him away again. I didn't feel like going to battle after a long day at school.

"You just wait! You just wait!" he called back to me.

"Talk to my lawyer!" I yelled, secretly hoping I wasn't going to need a plastic surgeon instead.

Time for the grand finale. Lots of students were gathered around my locker. I even saw a freshman taking pictures.

It was the climax everyone had been waiting for: Kai's white Calvin Klein underwear hot-glued to my locker. The sign underneath read: WHITE IS FOR VIRGINS, RIGHT KAI?

It would be up there for a while. Everyone saw it. I mean everyone!

"Hilary, you defaced school property," Principal Smith scolded me later that day. I had been in Principal Smith's office so many times, it was like seeing an old friend.

"Those lockers have been here forever, Frank," I replied. "Maybe it's time you tell the school board we need new ones."

"I don't think you see the seriousness involved here, Hilary. You ruined a locker and embarrassed an honors student."

"What honor? Ask your straight-A cheerleaders and half the drill team how many times he's embarrassed them!"

Principal Smith rattled his pencil in frustration.

"We need to get you involved in something, Hilary. Some club you can belong to, something that will help you make friends."

"The chess club have any openings? Or how about the math club?" I asked sarcastically.

"There are other activities."

"Can you guarantee me a spot on the cheerleading squad? Of course, I'd have to wear a black pleated skirt."

"That's one you have to try out for. But I bet you'd be great."

"Obviously honors students, like Kai, really respect cheerleaders."

"Hilary, high school is hard for most kids. That's just the way it is. Even the people who look as though they belong usually don't feel they belong. But you have so much going for you. You're imaginative. You're smart. You'll figure it out. Just don't damage any more lockers while you're trying to find the answers."

"Sure, Frank," I said, taking the detention slip. "See you soon."

"Not too soon, okay, Hilary"

"I'll try not to work you too hard," I said and closed the door.

The next day I noticed something on my locker that I hadn't put up. In black paint was written: HILARY IS A HORROR!

I smiled. Very clever Kai. Very clever. I felt warm inside. It was the first time he had ever complimented me.


	7. Happy Halloween

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!

Chapter 7 (Happy Halloween)

Halloween. My favorite day of the year. The one day of the year that I fit in. It's the only day everyone accepts and compliments me, and I even get rewarded for it by generous neighbors who don't think I'm too old to celebrate—or are more likely too afraid of what my tricks would be.

But this year I decided I really wanted to wear a costume. I shopped in stores I usually never went to and borrowed things from my mom. I strangled my hair into a ponytail and pink barrettes and wore a lusciously soft white cashmere sweater with a pink tennis skirt. I gave myself a healthy glow with some of my mom's base and blush and wore a soft plum lipstick. I even carried my dad's tennis racket. I went around the house saying things like, "Mummy dear, I'll be home after my tennis lesson!"

Nerd Boy didn't recognize me as I passed him in the kitchen. Then his mouth dropped open when he realized it was me and not a neighbor's kid dropping over for sugar.

"I've never seen you look so ... good," he said, dressed as a baseball player. I thought I was going to be sick right there and then.

My parents wanted to take pictures. Go figure. They were acting as if I was going to the prom. I let them take just one. I figured my dad should finally have a picture of me he could proudly hang at the office.

--

Mariam and I were eating lunch in the cafeteria later that day. Everyone looked at me like I was the new girl. Really, no one recognized me. It was fun at first, then a bit annoying. I got stares when I dressed in black. I got stares when I dressed in white. I couldn't win! Then Kai came into the cafeteria dressed as Dracula. His hair was slicked back, and he was sporting a black cape. He had plastic fangs and red-hot lips.

He stood with Max as he glanced all around to find me. He wanted to rub his new look in my face. Max finally pointed to me and Kai did a double take. He stared at me long and hard, looked me up and down. I had never seen him gaze at me like that before. It was as if he was in major Crushville, as he checked out my preppy white sweater and healthy glow.

I thought for sure he'd come over and say something stupid, but instead he sat at the opposite side of the cafeteria with his back to me. He even left before I did. I was free of him! But I was wrong. I should have known our truce wouldn't last.

--

My little pumpkin basket was almost filled with Smarties, Snickers, Mary Janes, Jolly Ranchers, Double Bubble gum, and lots of other tasty treats. And most importantly— spider rings and temporary tattoos. Mariam and I had walked all over town and now wondered what awaited us at the front door of the mysterious Mansion. We were saving the best house for last. Apparently so was everyone else.

There was actually a line to the front door. It was like we were at Disney World. Ghouls, punks, bums, Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, and Homer Simpson were all eagerly waiting their turn. And a bunch of coiffed parents who showed up to steal a peek inside. The circus was in town, and everyone had come to look at the freaks.

"He's really creepy," a twelve-year-old Frankenstein remarked to a pint-sized werewolf as they passed us.

Nerd Boy spotted me and Mariam as he walked down the driveway.

"It's well worth the wait, Hilary. You'll love it! This is my sister!" he proudly said to his geekoid Batman friend, who looked at me with junior crush-boy eyes.

"Did you see any shrunken heads? Or monsters with fangs?" I asked.

"No."

"Then maybe we're wasting our time."

"That old man is really freaky. He looks scary and he isn't even wearing a costume!"

I could see Nerd Boy was trying to bond with me, since this was the first time he could actually show me off to his friend. But I could also see Nerdo was expecting a verbal body slam.

"Thanks for the info."

"Thanks? Uh . . . yeah ... of course, sis."

"I'll see you at home, if you want to trade any candy bars."

Nerd Boy nodded willingly. He smiled and left like he had finally met his long lost sister.

Mariam and I eagerly waited our turn. We were last in line, and as Charlie Brown and a witch who were in front of us stepped away with their goods, the door closed. I looked at the S-shaped knocker and wondered if it was the initial of the new owner. When I peered closer, I saw it was a serpent with emerald eyes. I rapped it gently, hoping the Gothic guy would answer. I wanted to ask him if he was the one in the road the other night, and if so, what he had been doing? Most people got their exercise at the gym, not on spooky country roads in the dead of night. But no one answered.

"Let's go," Mariam suggested nervously.

"No, we waited forever for this! I'm not turning back until I get some candy. He owes us!"

"I'm tired. We've been out all night. It's probably just some creepy old guy who wants to go to bed. And I do, too."

"We can't leave now."

"I'm going home, Hilary."

"I can't believe you're so chicken. C'mon, I thought we were best friends."

"We are. But it's late."

"Okay, okay. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you all about Mister Creepy."

There were enough treaters walking around that I wasn't afraid for mousy Mariam. She'd get home safe. But would I?

I stared at the serpent knocker and wondered what stood behind the huge wooden door. Maybe the new owner would pull me inside and hold me captive in his haunted mansion. I could only hope!

I knocked again and waited. And waited.

I knocked again. I banged and banged and banged. My hand was starting to hurt. I dashed around to the side, then I heard the locks coming unlatched and the creaky door open. I quickly ran back up the front steps. And there he was, standing before me: Creepy Man.

He was tall and skinny, his face and hands pale as snow, in sharp contrast to his dark butler's uniform. He had no hair, not like he'd lost it, but like he'd never had any, and bulging green monster eyes. He looked like he had been alive for centuries. I loved him.

"We have no more candy, miss," he said in a deep foreign accent as he peered down at me.

"Really? But you must have something. Some peanut-butter twists? A piece of toast?"

He opened the door, no further than necessary. I couldn't see anything behind him. What did the place look like inside? How had it changed since I had snuck in four years before? And who were "we," and did they look creepy, too? We could all be friends. I felt someone watching, looming, and I tried to step past the doorway.

"Who else lives here?" I asked boldly. "Do you have a son?"

"I don't have any children, miss. And I'm sorry, but we don't have a crumb left." He started to shut the door.

"Wait!" I blurted out and blocked the door open with my shoe. I reached into my pumpkin basket and pulled out a Snickers and a spider ring. "I'd like to welcome you to the neighborhood. This is my favorite candy and my favorite Halloween treat. I hope you like them, too."

He almost didn't smile. But then as I placed the treats in his spidery snow-white fingers, he smiled a creaky, crackly, skinny-toothed smile. Even his bulging eyes seemed to twinkle.

"See you!" I said, dancing down the steps.

I had met the creepy man! Everyone in town could say they had gotten candy from him, but who else could say they had given him a treat?

I spun around on the front lawn and looked back at the grand Mansion. I saw a shadowy figure watching from the attic window. Was it Gothic Guy? I quickly stopped spinning and stared back, but there wasn't anyone there, just the ruffle of a dark curtain.

I had just passed through the iron gate when a ghoulish vampire in a red Camaro drove up to the curb.

"Want a ride, little girl?" Kai asked. Max the Farmer sat comfortably behind the wheel.

"My mother told me not to talk to strangers," I said, taking a difficult bite of a Mary Jane. I was not in the mood for a Kai confrontation.

"I'm not a stranger, babe. Aren't you too old to be trick-or-treating?"

"Aren't you too old to be toilet-papering the town?"

Kai got out of the car and came over to me. He looked particularly sexy. Of course, I find all vampires sexy, even fake ones.

"What are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"I'm dressed up as a freak, can't you tell?"

He was trying to be cool but was stepping on himself. I was the only girl that had said no to him. The only girl in town he could never have. I had always been a mystery because of the way I dressed and behaved, and now I was standing before him dressed as his perfect dream girl.

"So you're visiting Amityville by yourself?" He stared up at the Mansion. "You're a wicked chick, aren't you?" He glanced down, sending chills through me—he was gorgeous in his Dracula cape.

I said nothing.

"I bet you've never kissed a vampire before," he said, his plastic teeth shining in the moonlight.

"Well, when you see one, let me know," I said, and started to walk away .

He grabbed my arm.

"Give it a rest, Kai!"

He pulled me in closer. "Well, I've never kissed a tennis player," he joked.

I laughed, it was such a corny line. He kissed me full on the mouth, his plastic teeth getting in the way. And I let him. Maybe I was still dizzy from spinning on the lawn.

He finally came up for air .

"Well, now you have!" I said, pulling away. "I think Farmer Max is waiting for you!"

"I didn't get any candy!" he said, fingering my pumpkin basket. He pulled out a Snickers bar.

"Hey, that's my favorite! Take a peanut-butter twist."

He gobbled up the Snickers with his vampire teeth, which came loose and fell on the ground, dripping with chocolate and caramel. I quickly reached for them, but he grabbed my arm, spilling my candy everywhere.

"Look what you've done!" I shouted.

He grabbed handfuls of candy and stuffed them into his jeans. I watched as my remaining treats were strewn across the lawn. The only candy I could salvage were some boring Smarties and a smashed Mars Bar.

"Still want to be an item?" he asked, his pockets stuffed full with my night's work as he pulled me close.

"Still want to be my girlfriend?"

Suddenly he let me go and started toward the Mansion. "Now I'll get some real candy."

I grabbed his arm this time. Who knew what Kai would do if he reached the door?

"Miss me already?" he asked, startled that I hadn't run away.

"They're out of candy."

"Well, I'll just see about that!"

"Their lights are off. They went to sleep."

"This'll wake them up." He pulled out a can of spray paint from underneath his cape. "They definitely need someone who knows how to decorate!"

He walked on toward the Mansion. I ran after him.

"No, Kai. Don't!"

He pushed past me. He was going to vandalize the one thing in this town that was truly beautiful.

"No!" I cried.

He popped the lid and shook the can.

I tried to pull his arm away, but he threw me down.

"Let's see . . . how about 'Welcome to the neighborhood!'?"

"Don't, Kai, don't!"

"Or "Vampires love company!' I'll sign your name."

Not only was he going to deface their property, he was going to frame me for it. He shook the can once more. And began to spray the Mansion.

I rushed to my feet and pulled back my tennis racket. I used to play with my father, and no game was more important to win than this one. I locked my eyes on the aluminum paint-filled cylinder as if it were a ball, and smacked it as hard as I could. The can spun off into the distance, and, like my usual game, I lost my grip and the racket went flying after it. Kai let out a yell so loud I thought the whole world would hear. I guess I had hit more than the can.

Suddenly the front door light came on, and I heard the jingle of locks being unlatched.

"We gotta get out of here!" I yelled to Kai, who was crouching down, holding his wounded hand.

I was ready to make my escape when I felt something I had never felt before: a presence. I turned around and let out a soundless gasp, because fear had taken my breath away. I stood frozen.

There he was. Not Creepy Man. Not Mr. or Mrs. Mansion Family. But Gothic Guy, Gothic Mate, Gothic Prince. He stood before me, like a knight of night!

His long black hair laid in a long wrap passing his knees with heavy bangs framing his face long enough to touch his shoulders. His eyes were golden , deep, lovely, lonely, adoringly intelligent, dreamy. A gateway into his dark soul. He, too, stood motionless, breathing me in. His face was pale like mine and his tight black T-shirt was tucked into his black jeans, which were tucked into monster-chic punk-rock combat boots.

Normally fear is something I feel only when I know my mom's hosting a Mary Kay party and wants to use me as a model. But we were on private property, and my curiosity to meet this strange creature was overwhelmed by my terror of being caught.

The tennis shoes really were a good choice tonight. I could hear Kai yelling at me as he followed me in flight, "You monster! You broke my hand!"

I raced through the open gate and climbed into the waiting Camaro.

"Drive me home!" I screamed. "Now!"

Max was startled by his unexpected passenger. He just stared at me, in silent denial.

"Drive me now! Or I'll tell the police you were involved!"

"The police?" he blurted out. "What's Kai got us into now?"

I could see the angry Count Kai running down the driveway, his cape flowing in the wind. He was almost at the gate. Gothic Guy hadn't moved but continued to stare straight at me.

"Drive! Just drive the freakin' car!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

The motor started and we peeled away until the Mansion and its unusual occupants were out of view. I turned around and looked out the back window at a shouting Dracula Kai chasing after us.

"Happy Halloween," I said to Max as I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank you for your reviews!


	8. Looking For Trouble

Vampire Kisses

AU Hilary, An outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town, eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true. (ReiHil)(MaxMariam)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the book Vampire Kisses ... I just changed the book a bit so that the beyblade characters fit. I hope you like it!

Chapter 8 (Looking For Trouble)

I was making my way to history class when I spotted Kai walking ahead of me. I noticed something unusual about his indoor ensemble—he was wearing a golf glove on his right hand.

"Making a fashion statement?" I teased, catching up to him. "I guess it's a good thing you don't play soccer with your hands!"

He ignored my comments and continued to walk to class.

"Guess you'll have to miss a few sessions of graffiti club," I joked. "Since your trigger finger is out of commission."

He stopped and stared at me coldly. But he thought better of speaking and walked on.

Ouch! I guess I hurt more than his hand.

"I see you made it home safely," I continued, pursuing him. "Max took great care of me. He's a perfect gentleman!"

But then I realized everything. I had taken away Kai's pride, his girlfriends, and now had forced his best friend to betray him and side with the enemy. I felt sorry for him . . . almost.

Kai paused, staring down at me like he was going to explode. But I was distracted by a strange figure talking to the secretary in the principal's office. It was Creepy Man! Standing pale in the bright fluorescent light, his long gray overcoat shrouding his skinny body. And hanging from his pale, bony hand was my dad's tennis racket.

I pulled a fuming Kai to the wall, where we could safely overhear the conversation.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked, trying to wriggle away.

"Shhh! That's the butler from the Mansion!" I whispered, pointing.

"So what?"

"He's looking for us!"

"How can he be looking for us? It was dark, stupid!"

"That guy saw us! He probably found the spray cans on the lawn and whatever stuff you sprayed on the wall as proof! And he has my dad's tennis racket!"

"Damn, freak, if you hadn't hit me none of this would have happened."

"If you hadn't been born, none of this would have happened, you creep. Shhh, already!"

---

"Sir, you can leave the racket with us and we can make an announcement," I heard Mrs. Gerber reply.

"What did you say the girl was wearing?"

"A tennis outfit, miss."

"For Halloween?" She laughed and reached for the racket.

But Creepy Man drew back. "I'd prefer to keep it in my possession for now. If you find the owner, she knows where she can claim it. "Good day," he said and bowed to a charmed Mrs. Gerber.

---

I freaked and pulled Kai behind a statue of Teddy Roosevelt. "It's a trap," I said, squeezing Kai's gloved hand.

"I'll show up and the police will be waiting with handcuffs!"

Students stared at Creepy Man as he walked creepily toward the front doors, glancing around as he left. He was looking for us.

"He's taking the evidence with him, and that evidence is worth two hundred dollars," I whispered to Kai.

"Yeah, the evidence," he said. "Against you!"

"Me? Your fingerprints were all over it. That guy saw you, too."

"He only saw me running. He could have been after you. You were mad he ran out of candy, so you sprayed his house until he heard you making noise, then you dropped your candy and tennis racket when the lights came on," Kai said, like he was Sherlock Holmes solving the Case of the Missing Tennis Racket.

"You're going to pin this on me? I can't believe you!"

"Don't worry, I don't think you'll go to jail over this, babe. You'll just get a major spanking by that crazy butler."

I had gotten in enough trouble for things I had done; I didn't want to be punished for things I hadn't done.

Trevor started walking to class.

I caught up to him. "I'll drag you down so bad if anything happens!"

"Who will they believe, freak—an honors student who is a star soccer player or a two-bit gothic chick with one friend, who spends more time in the principal's office than in class?"

"You owe me a tennis racket!" I shouted helplessly as Kai sauntered off.

I admit it, Kai had avenged himself for the Naked Woods Night. Because of him I'd lost my dad's fancy-schmancy racket. And more importantly, he'd made me the enemy in the eyes of the only people in town who might understand me and be my friends. They were my freedom from Dullsville and my connection to humanity, but now because of Kai, the Mansion would be harder to get into than when it was boarded up.


End file.
